by PIP GRIFFIN

In the company
of phantom friends
the child dares
ford rivers wide as ditches
survive dry desert paddocks
without snacks or water
explore dream-deep
ravines a-swarm with worms
large as snakes
follow mouflon tracks *
corduroy-carved into the hillside
listen to those ancients
sound their horns in greeting
discover moas’ nests
cradle their eggs in cupped hands
clamber to the griffon’s grim eyrie
where Father is confined
release him
plummet downhill with him
on a moa’s back
laughing triumph
down
down
to the farmhouse kitchen
where Mother waits
with lemonade she’s made from fruit
the child picked yesterday
and oven-warm scones
thick-spread with plum jam
and their Jerseys’ yellow cream.

* ancient sheep